An Academic Autobiography
What are the purposes of American public schools? How do you study something that you are already so familiar with? Most of us have experienced at least 12 years in the system and you might think you know its features pretty well. Indeed, new teachers often begin their teaching by acting out what they remember about their own schooling or favorite teacher instead of incorporating new ideas they were exposed to in their college coursework.
We begin our study of American schools with our own experience. In the Academic Autobiography project, we will reflect on our own academic histories to answer the question:
What are the purposes and/or role of American public schools?
Our autobiographies are also a chance to writewritewrite. Writing is an excellent way of organizing your thinking so that it seems reasonable, interesting, and understandable by others. We will write our biographies in five segments. Each segment should be drafted, read by a critical friend or two, and eventually shared on this wikispace. The segments and their due dates are:
Autobiographic Element
Description
Due Date (Draft)
Due Date (Final)
1. A Personal Expertise Statement
An essay about something that you're good at. What is it?
How do you know how good you are? How did you develop
this ability?
6/27
7/9
2. Personal Profile / Introduction Page
Begin with the template "EDC 503 Personal Profile. Introduce
yourself with a paragraph or two and a picture.
6/27
7/9
3. Family/Outside Influence
Description of how your family and/or another out of school
experience influenced your academic development.
6/27
7/9
4. Early Influence
Description of a how an elementary or high school experience
or person shaped you into who you are now.
7/2
7/9
6. High School (or College) Influence
Description of a higher education experience that shaped your
academic life. NOTE: Summer 2013: If you wish, you can write about one academic experience that has been significant for you at EITHER the elementary, secondary, or college level. Your choice.
7/2
7/9
5. Links from and to your Profile Page
Create links to each of your autobiographical elements to your
Profile Page
7/2
7/9
Personal Expertise Statement
Describe something that you know how to do well. How do you know you do it well? How did you get interested in this topic? How did you develop your expertise? How do you hope to use this knowledge/skill in the future?
How did your life outside of school contribute to your academic success? What role, if any, did your family play? How did your life outside of school influence how you performed in school and what you chose to study?
What do you remember about your elementary and middle school experiences? What did you learn that has had a lasting influence? Who were your most influential teachers and/or caregivers? Why?
What role(s) did your later educational experiences play in where you are now academically? What curricular and extracurricular experiences shaped your outlook, goals, and abilities? Who were your most influential teachers and/or coaches? Why?
After we've written our autobiographical essays, we'll work in teams to synthesize across the essays to write an "About the Authors" page on RISchools.wikispaces.com
What are the purposes of American public schools? How do you study something that you are already so familiar with? Most of us have experienced at least 12 years in the system and you might think you know its features pretty well. Indeed, new teachers often begin their teaching by acting out what they remember about their own schooling or favorite teacher instead of incorporating new ideas they were exposed to in their college coursework.
We begin our study of American schools with our own experience. In the Academic Autobiography project, we will reflect on our own academic histories to answer the question:
What are the purposes and/or role of American public schools?
Our autobiographies are also a chance to write write write. Writing is an excellent way of organizing your thinking so that it seems reasonable, interesting, and understandable by others. We will write our biographies in five segments. Each segment should be drafted, read by a critical friend or two, and eventually shared on this wikispace. The segments and their due dates are:
How do you know how good you are? How did you develop
this ability?
yourself with a paragraph or two and a picture.
experience influenced your academic development.
or person shaped you into who you are now.
academic life. NOTE: Summer 2013: If you wish, you can write about one academic experience that has been significant for you at EITHER
the elementary, secondary, or college level. Your choice.
Profile Page
Personal Expertise Statement
Describe something that you know how to do well. How do you know you do it well? How did you get interested in this topic? How did you develop your expertise? How do you hope to use this knowledge/skill in the future?Non-School Academic Influences
How did your life outside of school contribute to your academic success? What role, if any, did your family play? How did your life outside of school influence how you performed in school and what you chose to study?Early Schooling
What do you remember about your elementary and middle school experiences? What did you learn that has had a lasting influence? Who were your most influential teachers and/or caregivers? Why?High School (or College) Experiences
What role(s) did your later educational experiences play in where you are now academically? What curricular and extracurricular experiences shaped your outlook, goals, and abilities? Who were your most influential teachers and/or coaches? Why?Synthesis Pages
After we've written our autobiographical essays, we'll work in teams to synthesize across the essays to write an "About the Authors" page on RISchools.wikispaces.com